Door operating apparatus



June 4, 1935. E. GAUITHIER DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 12, 1932-2 Sheets-Sheet l Inveto r w I y Attorney June 4, 1935. E. GAUTHIER DOOROPERATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 12, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w Inveh torAttorney Patented June 4, 1935 V-TVUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in door operatingapparatus and particularly to apparatus for opening and closing garagedoors. 'An important object of the invention is the provision ofapparatus for opening and closing vision of door operating apparatusdesigned so that a vehicle may engage and actuate the same without thenecessity of the operator dismounting from or stopping the vehicle.

g Another object of the invention is the provision of door openingapparatus of the above char acter which will be durable and reliable inuse.

' A still further object of the invention is the provision of dooropening apparatus of the above character which is very simple and whichcan be manufactured and installed at a relatively low cost.-

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description progresses.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like reference characters are employed to designate correspondingparts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus in door closing position,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section therethrough,

Figure 3 is a side elevational view showing the apparatus in dooropening position,

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the same,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of a vehicle axle with anattachment associated therewith,

Figure 6 is an enlarged transverse section taken on the line 6-6 ofFigure 5,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the outer end portion ofthe operating apparatus, and

Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the same shown in contact withpart of a vehicle.

Referring to the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration isshown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral l designatesthe elevated flooring of an automobile garage having disposed at thefront thereof, an inclined drive section II. At the front, the garagestructure is provided with a pair of hingedly mounted doors l2 adapted,in the present instance, to swing outwardly. To the lower portion ofeach door I2 is connected a door actuating bracket i3 having aprojecting curved extension terminating in a pivot'eye.

Rigidly secured on the ground. and projecting forwardly infront of thegarage is an elongated flat ledges tructure l terminating in a bevelledouter end projection l6 and provided, at the intermediate portion, witha depression I! having one end wall also bevelled.

Mounted horizontally so as to extend partly in front of the garage andpartly beneath the flooring thereof is a longitudinally slidableoperating rod l 9, slidably held in position by means of guide sleeves20, 2| and 22; The, sleeve is fastened to the floor boards of the garageby means of a U-bolt. The sleeves 2| and 22 are contact lug. A similarright angular" bracket 28? is pivotally connected to the rod .within theslot 24, this bracket also carrying in the end' of one' leg a rotatableroller 29, while the other leg is adapted to form a contacting lug.

To the inner portion of the operating rod I9 is bolted, or otherwisesecured, a plate 3| having pivotally connected to opposed sides thereofthe inner ends of pair of connecting rods 32. The opposed end of each ofthe rods 32 is pivotally connected with the pivot eye of each bracketl3.

In order to enable effective vehicle actuation of the apparatus, Iprefer to attach actuating means to the front vehicle axle. Thisattachment embodies a channel-shaped support member 34 rigidly connectedwith the central portion of the axle having hingedly connected to theinner flange an adjustable contact plate 35. The plate 35 is capable ofadjustment from a vertically depending actuating position to arearwardly directed elevated position, as shown at Figure 6. The contactplate 35 is normally held in a depending actuating position by means ofa spring 36 which will, however, allow rearward upward movement of theplate against the tension thereofl if the plate should contact with anobstacle during the usual forward movement of the vehicle.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: When the doors l2 are inclosed positions, as shown at Figures 1 and 2, and a vehicle is drivenso as to enter the garage, the doors l2 will be Y in alignment with theoperating rod. During automatically swung to an open position by reasonof the front axle of the vehicle engaging the contacting lug of theintermediate angular bracket 28, which lug will, in the closed positionof the doors, assume an upwardly projecting position. Continuing forwardmovement of the car in contact with the upwardly projecting lug willcause inward sliding movement of the operating rod l9 and elementsattached thereto. When the rod has been slidably actuated apredetermined distance, the roller 29 and one leg of the bracket 28 willbe swung downwardly into the depression l1, thereby causing thecontacting leg thereof to assume a horizontal position within the slotof the rod, as shown at Figure 3. Dur-..

ing this operating movement of the slide rod the garage doors l2 willhave been swung from a door closing position to fully opened positions,as shown in Figure 4, so that the vehicle may, with,- out interruption,drive directly into the garage.

When the vehicle is to be driven backwardly from the garage, the doors[2 are opened and the car driven outwardly therefrom. As the vehicle ismoving over the outwardly projecting portion on the operating rod, thedepending contact plate will engage the contacting lug of the outermostroller bracket 25 which will, when the doors are opened, assume anupwardly projecting position. During continuing outward movement of thevehicle, the contact of the plate 35 and the contacting rod will slidethe operating rod outwardly until the roller 26 attached to the bracket25 reaches the outer end of the ledge I5, at which time the rollerwilldrop and the contacting lug will assume a horizontal position theoutward movement of the operating rod, the doors l2, through the mediumof the connecting rods 32 and the brackets l3, will be swung from opento closed positions.

his to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changesas to the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims. 7

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-

1. In apparatus of the character described the combination with a pairof doors, of a longitudinally slidable operating rod, means connectingthe doors with one end of the rod for swinging the doors to open andclosed positions upon operation of the rod, a ledge having a recessextending beneath the operating rod, 9. pair of angular bracketspivotally connected to the operating rod and adapted to swingvertically, and a roller rotatably attached to the end portion of oneleg of each bracket, the said brackets being arranged so that one legthereof will project upwardly to engage a vehicle for sliding the rodand to automatically swing to a downward vehicle disengaging position ata predetermined position of the rod.

2. In door operating apparatus, a longitudinally slidable operating rod,mechanism operatively connecting the rod with a door, a pair of angularbrackets pivotally connected to'the rod, each of said brackets having aleg adapted to alternately assume upstanding vehicle engaging andretracted positions at predetermined positions of the rod,

and a ledge arranged below the operating rod adapted to co-operate withthe brackets to alternately extend the operating leg thereof intooperative position.

3.;In door operating apparatus, a longitudinally slidable operating rod,mechanism operatively connecting the rod with a door, a pair of angularbrackets pivotally connected to the rod, each of said brackets having aleg adapted to alternately assume upstanding vehicle engaging andretracted positions at predetermined positions of the rod, a ledgearranged below the operating rod adapted to co-operate with the bracketsto alternately extend the operating leg thereof into operative position,a pivotally movable contact member adapted to be connected with avehicle to engage the legs of the brackets, and spring means bearingagainst the contact member tending to yieldingly retain the member in adownward bracket engaging position.

EDOUARD GAUTHIER.

